Va Fa Napoli

Uno

It was very busy actually. Immediately we were surrounded by locals, offering 'designer' bags, sunglasses and a whole lot of other shady stuff. There was a lot of criminality in Naples because of poverty. I already felt sorry for the few uninformed tourists among us that would surely be scammed in no time.

When I was little we went to Napoli every single holiday, so my father always warned me about pickpockets and crooks, stealing whatever they could get their hands on.

Although my father was Italian, I inherited my mothers creamy skin and red hair, so I didn't look like a local at all and neither did Rachel. She looked like the ideal woman according to many men, blonde with blue eyes, a slender body, a graduate degree and a pretty face to top it all off.

In short, the crooks thought we were two ignorant white girls, totally unaware of their scams, and still tried to rip us off. They stood on every corner of the street, asking you for some change or offering to help you carry your suitcases.

Rachel and I politely declined every offer and went looking for a cab that would bring us to the apartment we'd rented for the remainder of this holiday.

I'd arranged everything in advance for us. We didn't have to worry about money or sleeping accommodations, so we could focus on more important things.

I'd never known much about how my parents died, but I was going to do something about that.

My nonna passed away just before my twentieth birthday and from the moment my parents were murdered, until she herself passed away, my nonna didn't let out anything about their deaths.

When they died there was a small memorial service with some relatives and friends, but even their bodies couldn't be flown in so we could see them one last time and mourn.

At the time my nonna told me a vague story about a robbery that had gotten out of hand, but it had always stayed a questionable story for me. Because of that I'd never been able to fully deal with their deaths. I mean, my father was absolutely flawless in self defense and knew which neighborhoods to avoid seeing he grew up there. As I grew up it started to make less and less sense to me.

"What are you thinking about Sofia? You look troubled." Rachel gave me a penetrating look and sighed. "Please stop thinking about your parents. I'm sure you'll find out their resting place and be able to visit it." She gave an encouraging squeeze in my hand and started unpacking her clothes. Seeing the amount of clothes she brought, it would be quite a challenge.

I opened up the curtains of my bedroom, letting the bright sunlight in. I sighed deeply and drank in the spectacular view.

"You're completely right. We should make the best of our time here and concentrate on having fun." I forced a smile, but luckily she didn't notice.

What she didn't know was that I didn't want to 'just' visit their graves and afterwards go out and party in Naples, I wanted to find out more about their deaths. I was a journalism major. Researching until I knew every single fact was just in my blood. Especially when it came to such important things as the death of my parents.

"Fuck!" Rachel suddenly cursed, as she walked out of her large bedroom. I laughed when I saw what she was holding up. There was a tiny red spot on her light blue jeans, indicating her period had begun. "I have to go find a drugstore to buy some pads. I'll be back soon."

"Wear something black when you go there!" I reminded her as she walked out of the room.

She turned around and rolled her eyes. "What do you take me for, an idiot?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but was cut off by the slamming of our door. I laughed as I shook my head at her actions. She had always been a bit of a drama queen.

My laughter died away and slowly my thoughts drifted back to my parents.

I picked up my notebook and started writing down the facts that I knew.

- My father was born and raised in Naples

- He had a lot of family and friends here

- He went on many business trips to Italy

- My parents were shot on 20 November 2009. It happened that Friday night around 8 o'clock.

-They both died in the ColliMonaldi hospital in Naples.

It wasn't much, but it was a start. From now on every single detail could be important, so I'd have to pay very close attention.

With great difficulty I'd arranged an appointment at the hospital my parents died, before I went on holiday. They kept asking me over and over again why I wanted to look into their autopsy reports and after reassuring them it was solely because I needed it for closure they let me. Of course convincing them came with a prize. Nothing was free here.

I wasn't sure of what I'd come across tomorrow but I was prepared for the worst.

~*~

FINALLY! lol

I wrote this chapter in my own language first, but the translating took much more time than I expected. So there's not much action in the first chapters yet, but I assure you, it's worth the wait (I hope).

As you've probably noticed Emma Stone stars as Sofia Verde, and now I will reveal Vincezo...

So what do you guys think? enjoy ;)